love is a maze
by beebutt
Summary: sollux feels the need to control everything, but can he control himself?
1. Chapter 1

Your face fins lift and fall slowly as you try to breathe as quietly as you can. You creep up on the sleeping Sollux Captor with a mischievous smile playing on your lips.

He won't know what hit him. Literally.

Sollux is sleeping in a foetal position, his face could be welded to his knees and it would make no difference.

You take off your long deep violet cape in preparation for when you run away quickly, you don't want to trip and give Sollux a reason to beat you up.

Cape draped over your left arm, you tiptoe sneakily around corners and stick to walls. You can feel your gills take in copious amounts of air due to your excitement.

Sol is lying in the middle of a dark room. The curtains have been drawn and the only noise coming from the room is from the quiet hum of his husktop and a light snoring.

He is on the floor, using his own arm as a pillow.

You proceed to creep up on him, trying to breathe as quietly as possible, trying to do everything as silently as you can.

When you get close enough to him to slap his face like you were planning to, hand stretched and ready, he stirs.

You take a short and sharp intake of air, pull your hand back and stare at him, expectantly. Your heart races and he rolls off of his arm, once again stilling.

You mentally sigh in relief and lift your hand to hit him, only lightly. Hard enough to wake him although light enough to not cause too much pain.

Your hand falls and you hear a voice.

"ED, what the fuck do you thiink you're doiing?"

Your hand stops mid-air. He's awake. He knows it's you.

Do you apologise and run? Do you slap him and run?

No. You act like a wriggler and try to play it off.

"wwhat are you talkin' about, Sol? 'm not Eridan; i'm uhh,"

"yeah fuckiing riight you aren't Eriidan. ii can fuckiing hear your 2tupiid 2tutter you a22hole,"

Shit. Busted. You gotta make up something fast or you're so done for.

"it's me, karkat, you fuckwwad, i mean, fuckwad. um, you're really stupid, you idiot, haha how did you not know it was me you pretentious um, idiot? haha,"

"ii fuckiing know that iit'2 you, okay? ju2t 2top and admiit iit; 2ave u2 both the embarra22ment,"

Violet stains your face and you give up, however, you don't give up.

"yeah, what the fuck evver, sol. say whatever you wwant (shit) want but i am not fuckin' around, alright? haha, it's KK here, your best buddy and pal. i am actually so heartbroken that you didn't realise, you're pathetic, haha"

It's at this point that Sollux turns around to face you. His face is filled with a blatant "ii told you 2o" and he smirks. You've given him ammo to shoot you down with and he loves it.

Rather than doing what a proper troll would do and run away, you slap him right in the face and _then _run away.

"you can't catch me, sol!" you cry, running away as fast as you can, thanking your lucky stars that you aren't wearing your cape.

"ED, you fucker! get back here 2o ii can 2hove my fii2t iin your face!"

You run through long corridors and endless halls. You run until you can't hear Sol thumping behind you anymore and slow to a halt.

Some corridors are dark and some are lit. You stay in the lit ones and walk around, looking for a door. It seems that you have found yourself in a maze, of sorts.

There are no longer any doors and what seemed like the dark is only replaced with light.

Your face fins twitch in uneasiness and you start to freak.

Where on Alternia are you?

"sol?" you call out, "c'mon, sol. it wwas jus' a joke. you knoww that, right?"

You hear nothing.

"sooool?" you cry once again.

You are yet again met with the sound of nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

This was such a good idea, you think to yourself. How fucking stupid did Eridan have to be to fall into your trap? Incredibly, it seems. See, the plan wasn't even that well laid out. Eridan was just an idiot, was all. You jog up a flight of stairs, two at a time. The stairs are white, like the wall it is coming off of. This whole place is all white walls and ceilings. The only colour brought to this world of traps and mazes is you and Eridan. At the top of the stairs, you are now basically on top of the entire labyrinth network. You had the ceiling specially made so that looking up from underneath (where ED is) will be plain white and looking from the top is like looking through a window. You love having control over ED like this. He's so clueless and pitiful that you can't help but to lock him up in a room like this, making him yours. You walk over the ceiling window and you follow him. You can hear him calling your name, hoping to get out of this place. Good luck, loser. You snicker slightly as he runs around, looking lost as hell and scared. "run, fii2h for braiin2, run," After a while of running around, Eridan seems to slow down. You slow down as well, a little confused and kind of grateful that he stopped moving. You were starting to get a bit tired. You flip your watch out and it says that it's getting late. Eridan's body clock must have told him that it was soon time to turn in for the night. Little does he know that if he had kept walking just a little bit farther and turned right, there would have been a bed there waiting for him. The bed is laid out splendidly, all pillows and covers. Eridan's not going to sleep in it; why let it go to waste? You walk over to where bed is and as you're standing right above it, you look over at ED, you see him shivering. The night proves to be rather cold and all Eridan has is his cape and the clothes on his back to keep him warm. You almost feel sorry for him. Almost. You lift the plate of of the ceiling above the bed up and you jump down, using your psiionics to put the plate back into place. From down here, in the maze, you can hear ED whining and calling your name softly, still pleading for you to take you out of this place. No, ED, not this time. You've given in too many times before, given in to your emotions and him. Not this time. 


	3. Chapter 3

You wake up, warmer than when you went to sleep.

Your gills take in air of a comfortable temperature. This isn't because the air around you has warmed but because there is now a soft blanket over you.

How did this get here? Who put it here? Sol?

Your face fins twitch in excitement that Sol may be looking out for you.

Although, if he were here to put this blanket on you, he would also be here to trap you in this maze. To keep you prisoner.

Purple flushes your face in a mix of anger and embarrassment.

Anger because why isn't he getting you out?! What is he doing? He better not be enjoying this!

And secondly, embarrassment, because well, he's just watching you run around.

The pressure is on for not walking into dead-ends or messing up otherwise you'll be a laughing stock.

You snuggle into the warmth of the blanket in this cold and isolated network of hallways.

After a while of laying there and doing nothing, you decide that maybe it is time to get up and out.

You stand up, wrapping first your cape around your-

Wait.

Where is your cape?

You freak for a second, looking around frantically and glancing behind you; hoping to see some bit of a purple.

Nothing.

_He_ must have taken it. Ugh.

You wrap the blanket around you as a replacement cape instead.

Damn Sol, taking your stuff, goddamn.

You grumble quietly to yourself as you walk straight ahead.

In front of you is a fork in the road.

One way goes further straight and the other one goes toward the rig..ht.

Your eyes widen as you see white and black shoes pull up into the ceiling.

Sol's shoes.

* * *

You walk over to right under where you last saw him.

He's up in the ceiling? Why would he be up there? What's he doing up there?

A million questions run through your mind as you stare up into the ceiling.

You can feel him looking back at you, even though you can't see him.

He's so close.

He could help you out. Hell, he could get his ass down here and get you out. Fuck help.

He set up this shit. He better get you out.

In a fit of rage, you look forward and storm away, pledging to yourself to refuse all further help from him.

Maybe it's time for _you _to play with _him._

Let's see how he likes it when the tables have turned.

You drop the blanket, now feeling the cold but your movements will keep you warm.

Fuck Sol. Fuck this maze. Fuck, it's cold.

Dropping the blanket was a bad idea but you can't go back and get it now.

That would be losing, and you can't lose to a computer nerd like him.

You're a fucking Ampora. You're a fucking highblood, for crying out loud.

Highbloods _do not_ lose to lowbloods. You'll make sure to keep it that way.

You're sure that your body is reacting to the cold. You can feel everything staining a little bit violet and your fins snap close to your face, not daring to flap in the cold.

You hear subtle snickers coming from above you.

Your face contorts with rage and you stop playing his game.

You stop walking.

You collapse.


	4. Chapter 4

**sorry about chapter two! unu i didnt edit it and ew its just a huge gross block of lame writing im so sorry but here have two chapters in a row instead woo p_p im so gomen. **

* * *

Shit. Shit. _Shit._

What the fuck, ED? Why the hell did he just fucking _collapse?_

It wasn't too cold in the maze. You made sure of it.

Fuck. It wasn't too cold for you, maybe. What about him?

Damnit, what is with these sea-dwellers? Isn't the ocean like way more cold anyway?

Why can't he just fucking-

Ugh.

Surely he's faking, right? Shit. If he's not... Oh, the hissy fits he'll throw.

You'd better get him to warmth before he remembers why he passed out.

Oh fuck fuck fuck. He's gonna be so pissed.

Crap.

You scoot over to lift up the panel above him. Right above him? Maybe landing on him won't be the best idea. You put the panel back into place and lift up the one next to it.

It's best not to freeze him _and _squash him, you reckon.

You jump down and drop the plate of the ceiling back into place with psiionics, yet again like the night before.

You look down on Eridan, who is still lying on the floor, face fins close to his face and everything exposed is touched with purple.

Why the hell did that idiot take off the blanket?

Where the fuck is his cape?

Why didn't this douchebag take his cape? Fuck, he can be so stupid sometimes.

You lean down to him, checking that he's still alive.

Two fingers on his wrist, two fingers on his neck, and a finger under his nose.

Blood pushed and lungs breathing, all is in order.

You smooth the back of your hand over his cheek. Cold as ice.

The feeling is nice on your warm hand.

His face is just so.. So.. Soft.

You turn your hand over so that your palm is now on his cheek. You run your thumb over his cheekbone.

Everything on his face is so cold. And sculpted. He's pretty handsome.

You tell him that he's ugly and horrid all the time but he's actually quite beautiful. You'd never tell him that, though.

With the cold softness in one hand, you touch his face fin with the other. Softly, because they are fragile.

He whines all the time about how things are always bumping into his fins. It doesn't hurt but he expects to be treated like nothing lower than a prince.

Fucking loser. He may not be treated like royalty but he sure knows how to shove it in your face that he practically is.

You slide his glasses off of his face and up onto the top of his head, resting them onto his streak of purple hair.

You move both your hands onto his face now, cupping his cheeks.

Lifting his face up as you lean yours down, you think of kissing him.

Would it be wrong to kiss him while he's like this? You ponder on this thought for a while, arguing to yourself while you absent-mindedly run your nose over his.

Your lips are so close to his.

If he were awake, you'd look into his eyes and kiss him. Right now, his eyelids are closed and his long lashes are resting against his cheeks.

You miss the violet orbs that swim around in his head. What is he thinking right now?

You part your lips, consumed by thoughts of Eridan.

Maybe you shouldn't kiss him.

Maybe you should.

Kissing him when he's not even awake is like a sin.

Who cares? You've kissed him before.

Don't do it.

Do it.

Maybe kissing him when he's not even conscious would be the wrong thing to do. Maybe you'll wait until when he comes to.

You drop your hands to down under his arms and lift him up onto your body.

Your arms wrap around him and you put his chin down onto your shoulder. Maybe this will help to warm him up.

Fuck him for being so vulnerable to the cold. If he wasn't out cold right now, you'd kiss him. Fuck.

Fuck these thoughts. Why does he always get you like this? You play these stupid tormenting games with him to test yourself. To see how long it takes before he takes over your mind and consumes you.

You guess that you never really did consider his feelings. He says he doesn't care and shoots some snarky comment but you know he really does.

Maybe when he comes to you'll apologise. You'll stop playing these games and just roll with your feelings. No matter how fucked up they can get.


	5. Chapter 5

You float around on Derse. Your silk purple outfit swishing slightly as you float up and onto one of Derse's many towers.

You sit on the roof, sort of. You lean on it.

The breeze blows through the moon's purple towers and lifts your scarf and cape. It's so nice here.

You close your eyes and feel the air move. Everything is so alive.

The Dersites are restless, yet again. Maybe something scandalous happened on Prospit.

You fly down to see what all the clamour is about.

You are just about to land on the ground when-

You gasp for air and your eyes snap open when you are shocked back into reality. Not that your dream self is any less real than the you now.

Your eyes look around in the dark for a bit. Wasn't it really light before? In the maze?

Why is it so dark now?

Are you even still in the maze?

Oh, god. What if someone or something kidnapped you and is holding you prisoner here? Where are you? Why are you here?

About a squillion more questions filled with panic rush through your mind as you lay there, unmoving.

You suddenly see a sliver of light appear on the other side of the dark room. You quickly squeeze your eyes shut, scared and undoubtedly worried for your life.

You pretend to go back to sleep as the figure walks over to you.

You force your breaths to remain steady, quite like a sleeping person's.

The figure leans down to you, pulling a blanket up onto you.

Funny, maybe this shaded stranger may not be so bad after all.

You spoke too soon.

The person pulls you up.

Where are they taking you to?! Don't they know you're royalty? How _dare_ they touch you like this! You'll have them thrown to Fef's lusus after this.

The figure lifts you into a hug. It's a one sided hug, though, as you are still pretending to be asleep.

This person's figure feels familiar, quite like Sol's.

SOL?

Your chin is placed onto their shoulder so you can no longer see their face. Damn you, maybe-or-maybe-not-sol.

If only they'd take your face away or put you back down. Then, that way, you could take a sneaky peek at their face while you're both still in the dark.

If only they'd give you some sort of sign to know who-

"ED, fuckiing wake up already would you?"

It _is_ Sol. What is he doing? Why is he doing this? Are you going to feed him to Gl'bgolyb or not?

Before you can think of an answer to anything, he lifts your face away from his shoulder, pushes your hair off your forehead and kisses it, softly. Gently. Once.

Who knew he could be so sweet? Not you, for sure. He always seemed so.. Distant. He seemed even lonelier than you, and that's saying something.

He sets you back down and pulls a blanket back over you. He sits there for a minute, thinking of who knows what, and then gets up.

He slowly turns around to leave and he just radiates the feeling of sadness.

Your heart aches for him and before you can stop yourself, you cry out for his attention.

"Sol!"

He promptly turns around, surprised that you are actually awake.

There is more light in the room now because of when he entered before.

You can see his face quickly flush a yellow as he realises how he was acting around you.

His embarrassment is replaced with an uncharacteristic shyness as neither of you say anything.

You want to chase his sadness away and he wants to run away.

You get up, lifting off the blanket and immediately regretting the decision as you start shivering.

All thoughts of Sollux are pushed away as they are all replaced with the feeling of the cold.

You are quick to wrap yourself in the blanket and snuggle into it, trying to get as warm as possible.

The warmth seeps back into your skin and the blanket holds to defence to the arms that wrap around your body.

You turn your head slightly to see Sol's arms wrapped around you tightly and his face resting against your back.

"Sol, wwhat're ya doin'?"

"ju2t, ju2t 2hut up, ED. lemme hug you for a bit, alright?"

You hum slightly, feeling good because of the warmth coming from everywhere.

You turn around and wrap your arms around him as well. He buries his face in your chest and you place a kiss to the top of his head.

"Sol, do ya knoww wwhere my scarf is?"

He lifts his face up to look you in the eyes. His eyes are swimming with emotions.

"ED, ii thought ii told you to 2hut up"

You look away, feeling sort of hurt. That was so uncalled for and even though you are warm now, your face fins close back to your face.

"no, no. ED, that wa2 a joke. don't be liike thiis, no"

He gently pulls your face back and gazes into your eyes as you stare into his mismatched ones. You aren't wearing your glasses and you feel so naked without them. Because of this feeling, you are quick to become uncomfortable and look away again.

Sollux sighs and instead moves over to your face. You move away. He moves closer. You move away. This goes on for a little bit before he becomes frustrated and grabs your chin. Your eyes widen at this and you unintentionally part your lips.

He takes this to his advantage and kisses you. Slowly and passionately. He seems hungry for you. His eyes are closed and he is showing all his emotions with his mouth.

Your eyes are still wide in shock and you push him away.

"Sol, wwhat're ya doin'?" you ask again.

He glares at you for pushing him away but then his features turn soft.

"ED, ii don't know where your cape ii2"


	6. Chapter 6

**this chapter may or may not be triggering - please read with caution - **

* * *

You sit at your husktop, trying to code but failing miserably.

Your mind just isn't here. It's floating off somewhere else, somewhere with Eridan's cape.

Where could it be?

He didn't have it. You don't have it.

Could someone have taken it?

When was the last time you saw it?

He was holding it when he ran away from you and into your maze.

He was walking around while wearing it.

He went to sleep covered in it.

He was also curled up in it when you caved and brought a blanket to him.

After all that, the next time you saw him was when he was using the blanket as a cape.

Maybe he'll remember.

What if someone took it, though?

Your eyes widen at the thought that someone else could be in here, lurking around.

Your mind starts racing. It's possible, definitely, but you would have seen them... Right?

What would they want with ED's cape? One could sell it, but it wouldn't fetch for too much.

It's more for sentimental purposes than for showing off.

ED, what have you gotten yourself into this time, you idiot.

You think back to when he woke up in the dark room with you.

How long had he been awake for? How much did he know about your feelings?

You both tell everyone that you're black but how red are you feeling?

You can't push your red feelings onto Eridan, otherwise he might flip. He says that he's strong and flaunts his toughness but you know that he's fragile.

He says he would rather be treated roughly and is all for black rom but you can't help but to touch him gently, like he might shatter if you apply any force.

Sometimes, just sometimes, he will get angry at you for being so gentle.

Okay, you lied. Maybe it's a lot. It is definitely a lot. Every damned time that you reach out to him, caress him, he expects to be hit.

It pains you to know that he thinks of you in only a black way.

Maybe that's because when the both of you first started seeing each other, it was indeed very black.

There would always be enough blood from the both of you to fill a bucket.

You sometimes wonder what the blackest relationship would be like. How many times would the couple have to be on the brink of death?

You shudder slightly at the thought of putting Eridan on the edge of death only for the pure rush of dominance.

Sometimes you think about whether he would ever think of you in a red way. You hope he does.

Kissing him feels so right but while the kisses are gentle and floating in a flushed quadrant, the force and need to dominate are undoubtedly black.

You sigh, knowing that no matter how red for him you think you are, the black will never fade away.

Is it because he feels black for you? Would it make a difference if he showed a bit of red for you?

You take a few deep breaths as you close all the running programs on your husktop.

As it's whirring slows to a near stop, you get up to turn on a light. You should get ED to eat something.

Shit. Food.

How long has it been since he ate?

Shit, shit, shit. He must have collapsed because of this. Maybe. He was pretty cold too.

And you were _just _thinking about how maybe you guys could work out in a red rom.

He probably thinks some serious black shit is going on here.

Fuck, you screwed up. Fucking _hell, _did you fuck this up.

You run out of the room you are currently in to check up on Eridan. You burst into the room, panting slightly and looking around desperately.

He is lying down with his stomach faced to the ceiling. Shit, is this because he's sleeping or has he passed out again.

You are most likely the worst person to ever be in any quadrant with.

You'd break the heart of your matesprit and starve your kismesis.

You'd drive your moirail to insanity and reject all persons trying to auspiticize.

You are such a horrible being.

You crouch down next to Eridan, checking his breathing.

He's still breathing; that's a good sign.

You wake him up by nudging his horns. His horns are surprisingly sensitive. Interesting...

He wakes up with a splutter.

"huh? wwhat? Sol? wwha-?"

You smile at him and pat his hair. Your smile reaches your eyes as you see him lean into your hand. He leans in only slightly and closes his eyes but at the sight of that your heart jumps and you find yourself yearning for him.

In one swift motion, you slide your hand from the top of his head to his cheek. You thank the mystical forces of Skaia that he isn't wearing his glasses.

You find that he even leans into your hand when it's on his cheek. He's just too perfect.

His eyes are still closed and the shy presence of a smile starts to play on his lips.

Fuck. He can't do this to you. Not now. Fuck.

You're supposed to be feeding him, not sexually abusing him.

He moves his head so that your hand runs over his face. He's entirely too perfect.

Can you really stop yourself before you ruin everything?

He licks your hand a bit and you immediately pull away. At this, he cracks his eyes open, eyes filled with shock and rejection.

It's not his fault, no. It's your fault. It's all your fault. All the hurt he feels, all the hard times and all the torment in his life. It's all you.

Your eyes widen in shock at this revelation and you recoil from it; away from him.

"ED, ii'll get you 2omethiing two eat." you mumble.

You have to stop hurting him. You have to treat him like he's nothing less than perfect, because that's what he is. Sure, he can be a total asshole at times but you just have to stop being so unjustifiably vicious.

"yeah, okay, Sol." he mutters.

He turns his face away from you while biting his bottom lip. His eyes are unreachable but you know that they're tearing up.

He is so obviously hurt. Why is it that when you are trying not to hurt him you end up doing the exact opposite?

Why is it that you can only ever manage to fuck things up? Why can't you do anything properly? Why can't you do anything without hurting him?!

"ED, can ii kii22 you?"

His head snaps back and he faces you, eyes opening wide in a mix of shock and hopefulness. He doesn't even reply. He just looks at you, scanning your face thoroughly to make sure you're not joking. Is this really what you are to him?

Your eyes fall from his face and you look away, lost in your thoughts as he sits there staring at you.

"Sol" he begins.

You raise your eyes to meet his face, hoping for a yes. When your eyes hit his face, you find that he's not even looking at you.

He is staring wide eyed at something behind you. He looks sort of scared.

"what ii2 iit, ED?"

"Sol, i think i found my cape."

"what do you mean? you ju2t 2at here thii2 entiire tiime, how diid you fiind your cape?"

"Sol, no. turn around"

Your ears pick up something before your eyes do as you turn.

You hear a low grumble of a growl. Your jaw drops to the floor and there's a flash of purple.


	7. Chapter 7

**alright, so im guessing that quite a few people were confused by the last chapters ending so i am quickly uploading this to clear confusion! please bear with me its quite late right now and i should be studying and i may not end up editing this so please just bear through all the mistakes sorry!**

* * *

You continue to stare over Sol's head. Your cape is there.. With... Who is that?

You can't really see who it is because you aren't wearing your glasses but if they spoke or came closer then maybe...

"Sollux Captor, w)(at ARE you doing to t)(is poor boy?"

_Fef?_ Alright, maybe it is definitely time to put on your glasses.

You reach around a bit, clumsily touching things while trying to find your glasses.

You hear Sol sigh and then your glasses are being pushed onto your face.

Feferi's face comes into view much more clearly this time and boy, she looks angry.

She stands there, all pinks and blues and greens. She's so colourful.

Her pretty face is contorted into an angry frown and before you can even ask for your cape back, your stomach grumbles in an almighty roar.

How long has it been since you've eaten? You don't even know how long you were out for.

At this horrible noise, Fef's face changes from cross to mirthful. She starts to giggle a bit and it sounds like bells.

This makes you smile. Sort of. You are incredibly hungry and the pain of everything is starting to hit you. Hard.

Unlike Feferi, however Sol did not find any of this funny. His eyes are filled with shock and guilt. His face is has drained of all colour and he is unmoving.

Fef's head tilts to the side slightly and smiles at you. She understands that you are hungry.

She then turns to Sollux.

"Sollux, w)(at the glub were you doing in this dark room wit)( t)(is starving troll? )(mm?"

Sollux's emotions return to him. He suddenly looks nervous and shy, which is quite out of character for him.

"um, hii FF. uh, what are you doiing here?"

"Don't give me t)(at line! W)(y did you starve Eridan?"

"hey! ii diidn't do iit on porpoi2e! heh"

"You )(ave lost all rig)(ts to use fis)( puns"

"c'mon, FF. howw'd you get iin here, anyway?"

"I don't )(ave to tell you t)(at"

You looks back and forth between the two as they bicker. A relieved feeling washes over you as your think pan processes that at least it wasn't anyone shady that had your dear, precious cape.

As the two of them argue aimlessly, you gather the strength to stand up. As you stand up, the two squabbling trolls turn to look at you because to be honest, you shouldn't be up.

You walk over to Fef and thank her meekly for looking after your cape. You wrap it back around your neck and embrace the familiarity of it.

Sollux squeaks to no one in particular.

"ii'm goiing too get 2ome food"

Feferi nords curtly in approval before sitting you down.

"howw did you find it, Fef?"

")(mm? O)(, I was just floundering around, and t)(en i found t)(is! And so I knew t)(at you would be around somew)(ere!"

You both smile at each other for a while, lost in the comfortable silence.

That silence is soon broken, however, as Sol screams from a different room. You and Fef both look in the direction that the sound came from.

"Eridan, you stay here, alrig)(t? I'll go sea w)(at the fuss is aboat"

You nod once and then Fef is whirling out the door.

* * *

**wow, ok sorry. my brain just gave up here but yeah hopefully the previous confusion is now cleared up? drop a line or anything if anyone still needs it to be cleared up.**


	8. Chapter 8

**orz im so sorry i havent updated in a while and left it on a cliffhanger (sort of i guess) so i hope you can forgive me with two chapters in a row im so super gomen**

* * *

Eridan's slow eating and Sollux's short, quick breaths are only sounds that fill the room.

You anxiously bite the nail of your right thumb as you bring your left hand round to hold your right elbow. Your jewellery jangles a bit but this does nothing to help with the tense atmosphere.

Eridan still has no idea why Sollux is so worked up.

They both sit on opposite sides of the room with Eridan crouched over a bowl of fish or something in one corner and a seething Sollux in another.

You look at the two of them, your long locks swinging back and forth. Eridan seems slightly worried. The poor thing must think that he's the reason that Sollux is so... Irritated.

A concerned look washes over your face as Eridan looks up and across the room to Sollux. He stares at the other.

Sollux is hugging his knees and facing a corner. It seems to be a position that is familiar to him, a position that gives himself the comfort and assurance that only he can offer to himself.

You don't know how much longer this will go on for. How long will Eridan have to sit there and reflect on everything he's ever done?

He should know that this is not his fault but... You're not the right one to tell him.

Sollux has to.

You look over to Sollux and your facial features rearrange themselves into something of a sad shape. You feel so sorry for him. He must be willing himself so strongly not to completely trash everything in this place. He must be a mess of emotions at this point.

Eridan is still looking at him. Sollux is still in the corner.

Just as Eridan opens his mouth to say something, Sollux speaks up first.

"FF, to get out of here go out this door, down the hallway to the left and then go right then alternate between first lefts and second rights until you're out."

You weren't expecting something like that to come from him. You glance back to him before leaving, making sure that he's okay.

You walk past Eridan and pass him a supportive smile. He will be okay as well.

You open the door and you are met with a sudden silence. The transition from an atmosphere of tension to one of nothing is slightly unsettling.

Oh well. You take a step towards the left before you hear a voice. The voice comes from behind you.

"What happened in there, Feferi? Did he find us out?"

The voice is slow, the words are deliberate and drawn out.

A smile crawls slowly onto your face.

"No, they did not fin out! I am so -EXCIT-ED! What gill we do now?"

You turn around quickly, sending your hair into a swirling mess. Your face falls when there is no one there. What..? You could have sworn that...

Two clawed hands are placed onto your shoulders.

Your smile returns.


	9. Chapter 9

**okay, i lied. i said two in a row but i just couldnt. im gomen x1000. have this woah woah super sexy chapter as an apology for everything - spoiler alert its not that sexy dont get your hopes up :^)**

* * *

You stare at the back of Sollux's head, trying to will him with your mind to turn around and talk.

You sigh. Why were only lowbloods gifted with psychic abilities?

All the highbloods get only reputation and status. Why is being royalty so disadvantageous?

You give up on trying to bend Sollux's will and instead turn back to your food. You haven't really eaten much even though you don't usually eat a lot.

Sollux would know what and how much you would have liked to eat. He knows everything about you. Sometimes, you think about just how much he knows about you and you compare that to how much you know about him.

Maybe it's because you complain about everything and he's a good listener, or maybe it's because he's hiding himself from you. Either way, you know next to nothing about him.

All that you really know is that he likes to code and kiss.

He knows all of your friends and your enemies. He knows what you like to wear and what you do all day. He knows everything. Everything.

You're both in a sort of relationship that doesn't really consist of talking about feelings and hobbies but it would be nice to know just a smidge more about him, you think. It sort of brings you closer. You like feeling close to Sollux.

Wait, what? What? _What _did you just think to yourself? You like feeling close to Sol? No. No fuckin' way.

You argue to yourself inside your head while your cheeks slowly turn purple. Close.. To Sol?

You can feel your cheeks start to heat up and so you turn away quickly to stop Sol from seeing if he turns around.

Nyeh, you're way too loud and you tip your bowl on your way around.

Oh, god. Your face blushes even deeper. Your back bends over unconsciously, letting your head sink down further in embarrassment.

You can feel Sol's eyes drilling into the back of your head. You lift up your face fins in hopes of blocking your face from his vision as much as you can.

If only Fef were still here; she'd help you out of this terrible mess. You shut your eyes tight, hoping that maybe somewhere, someone will have listened to your prayers and then maybe because you can't see him, he can't see you.

His eyes are still on you. You can feel it.

It feels like electric currents running up and down your back. The back of your mind is being bored into with his eyes and it feels like he can read every one of your thoughts.

You hate this feeling so, so much. You hate it that you think he knows your secrets. You hate it that you know nothing about his. You hate the fact that you can't stop coming back for more.

No, no. _No. _

_Fuck._ He's doing this shit _again?! _Is he so fucking lazy that he can't just get up and go over to you?

Fuck, you hate it when he uses his powers to do things like this to you.

You hate it when he lifts you up through the air like this. Fuck.

He lifts your torso up so your arms and legs are all flailing about and you're flying through the air towards him and just... _Goddamn, how lazy is he? _

"s-shit, Sol. stop, stop!"

He doesn't stop. You continue hurtling towards him and just, for fuck's sake. You know where this is going.

Every _damned_ time that he's upset he will pull you towards him like this. He doesn't care where on fucking Alternia or anywhere you are.

You sigh, knowing from experience that any resistance is futile. You let him do what he wants, for now.

This is harmless, really. He doesn't hurt you anymore. Well, he tries not to.

You are now floating in front of him, just a little bit above his head. You look down on him and you see tear tracks. He's been crying? Damn.. He almost never cries. That's normally just you.

"Sol, stop. wwhat's wwrong?"

He remains silent as he pulls you into a familiar position.

Your legs wrap around his middle and your arms go over his. Your heads are both on each other's shoulders.

He likes to hug you this way.

He must be really upset because he hugs you really tightly.

You are suddenly washed over with a sadness that you can't really explain. What is this? It's sort of like a pity?

Pity? You aren't supposed to feel this way in a relationship such as yours.

Black rom does not consist of pity.

Red rom does however...

How can the two of you be red? You hate the way he makes you feel about yourself. You hate him. Hate, hate, hate it.

At least, well.. You think you do.

You suddenly drop all these types of negative thoughts when he nuzzles his face into your neck.

Your arms wrap around his neck and he licks your neck slightly. This is enough to make you melt into him.

He feels your relaxation and pulls his head back, jolting you out of your laze.

You lock your eyes with his mismatched eyes that are buzzing with liveliness. At least he isn't sad anymore.

He is the first to look away as he glances quickly at your lips. Weh, your face suddenly flares with embarrassment and want.

A small smile plays on his lips as he leans in and kisses you, slowly. Your kisses never used to start slowly. There was a time when only a desire for self-satisfaction fuelled your kisses. That was a long time ago, however.

Now is different. The two of you kiss with a feeling of both mixed passion and need. You kiss to satisfy the other and yourself.

He deepens the kiss by running his tongue over you bottom lip. You can feel yourself unintentionally smile into the kiss. How can you not? He is just so wonderful. You really should let him know that more often. There are too many things to do. One of those things is Sol, for example.

You allow his tongue to enter your mouth and you meet his with yours.

He pushes you down and is now lying on top of you while you both proceed to grab at each other needfully.

Your fingers are entwined through his hair and your legs are still crossed around his middle. You pull your legs so that his body is directly on yours and it all just feels so... Good.

He has his arms snaked up over your back and his hands are grabbing your horns, caressing them gently and it's driving you crazy.

You move your hands down slowly over his back, touching every curve and dent and reach the hem of his shirt. You move your legs down a bit so they aren't in the way.

Rather than lifting it up and over like you know he would like you to, you instead rub his lower back and he pouts a bit into your mouth.

He runs psiionics faintly through your horns. It's not enough to do anything to them but it is definitely enough to let you feel it.

You break the kiss and grab the hem of his shirt. You moan a bit and he grins. He continues to run his lowblood powers through your horns.

Shit, this feels good. You decide that you've been playing around for long enough and yank his shirt up, he lets you pull it over him and then he's on you again.

He pulls you back into a kiss but this time he has his hands on your cheeks. Your kisses have gone back to slow and meaningful. Soft and sweet.

Is it weird to think that he tastes good? Because fuck, he does.

Your hands are back in his hair and you decide that maybe it's time to play with him.

You break the kiss and he looks at you with his brilliant eyes. He's sort of confused and he wants to know why you're not kissing him but thhen you take off your shirt. He understands now.

He's sort of got a flirty expression on his face and he's reaching over to you but then-

You both turn towards the door as you hear Feferi scream.


	10. Chapter 10

**IM SO SORRY ITS BEEN LIKE A MONTH SINCE I UPDATED**

* * *

It was your turn to get lost in the maze now.

How? How could you get lost in this place? You designed it.

Did someone screw around with your head? Maybe shifted all the walls? Either way, both you and ED are fucking lost and he's scared out of his mind because of what could have happened to FF.

"sol, wwhat if she's dead?"

Maybe you'd be a bit more concerned due to his sudden jump to conclusions if this weren't the fucking two hundredth time he'd asked you.

"ju2t fuckiing 2hut up, you moron. we'll fiind her, alriight? ju2t 2top talkiing 2o much, for fuck'2 2ake."

"wwell i'm fuckin sorry that i fuckin actually care about her, you mustard blood dirt licker"

He turns his head away from you dramatically and yet, he tries to keep an inconspicuous eye on you. He fails to do so.

He can't risk losing sight of you and getting lost. Again.

You sigh at his theatrics and decide to be the bigger troll in this situation. You know that if you feed his flame with insults and other crap then he might actually abscond and then you'll both be lost, just not lost together.

"ED, ii'm 2orry, okay? ii'm ju2t fuckiing pii22ed that ii'm lost iin my own maze. ii thought ii had thii2 2hiit fiigured out."

He keeps his face turned but his eyes change. They soften slightly and he can tell that you're being sincere. You really are fucking pissed.

"yeah, wwell, apology accepted, douchelord"

He starts walking again with all his body parts in their natural position. You're relieved slightly that you don't have to watch out for if he gets lost by not following you but it does nothing to alleviate the crushing feeling in your heart and think pan. Just thinking about it makes your insides churn and twist.

"oh yeah, sol, hey. are you evven listenin?"

Why won't this guy just shut it for one fucking minute?! You ignore him, hoping that maybe he's not so stupid and that he will take your silence as an inspiration and he too, will shut up.

"..."

Huh. Maybe he's not that dumb. You enjoy the quiet for a while as you run millions of possibilities through your mind.

What if FF truly did die, though? Why don't you know where you're going? That scream was definitely hers, right? You fucking designed this maze, so why don't you-_  
_

"sol"

Goddamn it.

"what the fuck do you want thii2 tiime?"

He fidgets for a bit and you stop and look at him in the face. You make sure that he can see that you are irritated so that this will be the last time he talks about stupid shit.

He looks at you and looks extremely conflicted. His eyes glance to everywhere but your face and his lips are pressed into a thin line, not letting anything out. Not a peep, not a whisper. He easily senses your mood and doesn't want to push you any further. He really is a good boy, isn't he?

A perky grin spreads over your face and your eyes light up. His line of sight fall down to the ground and his fins quiver.

The sight of that makes your heart shatter. The former domineering expression melts from your face and leaves nothing but despair. Why must you always make him feel this way? Why must he always make you feel this way?

You lift a hand up slowly, up to near his face. He sees your hand and he knows where it is going but he still does not look at you.

Your hand is hovering near his cheek now. His eyes are still cast downwards. He looks like he is steeling himself to do something. You're not quite sure what it is he might do. This breaks your heart and all you can think about is how you can make him happy again. Why do you have to be so arrogant all the time?

He does something you really should have expected. He smacks away your hand. You knew it was going to happen in your think pan but why is your heart failing to accept it? Why does it sink and drown itself in its own sorrows?

"ED, c'mon. don't be liike thii2. don't make everythiing hard for your2elf."

Idiot. That was the most idiotic thing you could have said. This isn't his fault, dammit.

He screws up his nose for a fraction of a second. He looks at you. His eyes are dark and his eyebrows are drawn together. He's angry.

Shit.

All you can do right now is try not to add any idiot fuel to his blazing fire.

"hehe. h-hey ED, that wa2 ju2t a joke. ii-ii-ii diidn't mean any of iit. um, 2hiit."

He stalks slowly toward you. You are so screwed.

Your hands fly up to a sort of surrendering position. Palms flat out toward him and you take a step back for every one that he takes forward.

"sol you are the fuckin scum a this land and you havve no right to treat me the wway you vvery wwell do"

Shit. He really is angry. You hope you don't say anything stupid.

He's backed you up to the wall. This brings back so many memories.

He grabs a fistful of your shirt and brings your face to his.

You expect and anticipate for him to say something, anything.

He glares at you, his eyes boring right into your mind. You're legitimately confused as to whether this is a blackrom hate or a platonic sort of hate. You would die if it were the latter.

He says nothing. Why isn't he saying anything? Usually he's just so verbal and noisy and it drives you insane when he talks. It's crazy stupid because you want him to talk.

You find yourself hating this silence.


	11. Chapter 11

Tears.

They're all you can see at the moment. You're sure that you didn't mean to cry; it just happened. Why won't the tears stop flowing?

Your hand is so close to Sollux's chest that you can feel his bloodpusher flutter rapidly. You blink the tears back and while you still can't see properly, it's better.

A murky film of tears still cling to your eyes but it only takes your sleeve to drive it away.

Sollux is cowering underneath your clenched fist. The only thing to stop yourself from letting him go and apologising is the overwhelming feeling of belittlement you get whenever he is in your presence. It's not even a stupid think pan thing where you feel like he's amazing or anything because frankly, he's not.

He simply acts big and shuts you down. Who is he to make you feel that way? What type of authority does he have? You'd really like to fucking know.

"h-h-hey ED, c'mon."

For fuck's sake, he isn't even in the top _half _of the hemospectrum. Why are you letting this bag of dirt give you shit?

"wwhat the fuck do you wwant, huh?"

You glare at him. He opens his mouth to say something, maybe. His gaze falls to his feet and you're enjoying this sense of empowerment. Maybe the great Sollux Captor isn't so great after all.

"ii'm 2orry, ED. ii really am." His voice is only a little louder than that of a whisper.

He's given up, surrendered to you, just gone. He seems just so sincere in what he just said. Now this is new.

It's so new that you don't know what to do. He's never given up before. A sensation of panic settles in at the back of your think pan.

Do you carry on? Do you accept his apology? He still won't look up from the ground so it's hard to think of what to do.

Before you can think of what to do, his body starts to tremble.

Is it his turn to cry? Oh, shit. Did you make him cry? You don't know how to handle other troll's tears. Fuck, you are so not ready for tears.

"ii'm 2orry that you're a dumba22."

His face is still cast downwards towards the ground but you don't need him to look up to see a big fucking grin all over his face.

Fuck, this is what you meant. He always _always_ jokes around like this. He doesn't even care about who is involved. This is the worst day of your whole fucking life.

You grit your teeth and regain your composure. It's important to remain level-headed and in control, you remind yourself.

He's fucking giggling his ass off by now. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, steeling yourself for what you're about to do.

You open your eyes when you breathe out. His laughter has died down significantly. Good.

You push him against the wall with your hand on his chest. He looks at your hand. You can see the apprehension flow into his mind and drown him in it. He knows you're being serious now. He knows it's no longer time for any of his games.

"sol you treat me like shit an im not gonna take any a that anymore an im sorry but its fuckin over"

Shock floods his being. Shock floods _your _being. Hell, you really did it.

"what? are you fuckiing breakiing up wiith me?"

"it appears so, sollux"

"what the fuck? you can't do that two me! fuck iit, ED! fuck, ii2 thii2 becau2e ii told you too 2hut up? what the hell, that ii2 2o fuckiing unfair, you piiece of 2hiit."

"sol, you shut the fuck up, alright? dammit, you don't evven knoww, ok?"

"well why the 2hiit are you breakiing up wiith me then? are you jokiing? what the hell? what diid ii do?"

His voice bleeds with desperation. It's so tempting to take him back but you know first and foremost that this is important.

He'll get over you. It's not like he ever really needed you.

"i'm not fuckin jokin, alright? you just nevver treated me like i wwas wworth anythin and that shit hurt like fuck"

"no. no, ED, no. you're wrong. ii do need you. ii need you riight now. don't do thii2 two me, plea2e, ii'm beggiing you, plea2e."

At this point he's clawing at your shirt. It hurts to leave him like this, it really does.

Tears spring from his eyes and run down his cheeks like waterfalls. This is the first time you've seen him cry, actually.

"you can't, ED. you ju2t can't."

He can't manage anything else. It's his turn to break down. The floodgates have been opened and you're the only one that can close them again.

The question is, will you?

Of course you will. You know what it's like to cry by yourself because others have rejected you.

This is probably the last thing you'll do for him, though. You have Fef to find.

After a lot of awkward and embarrassing 'shushes' and reassurances, both you and Sollux and sitting on the ground.

He's sitting in your lap and you have your arms wrapped around him.

His outburst has finished and all that's left of his tears are the dried tracks running down his cheeks.

His head leans against your chest and you smooth his hair with your hand.

It's so comfortable like this. It feels so cliché by admitting that this feels so right. In the midst of this warmth, you accidentally think out loud.

"this is incredibly red, isn't it?"

You regret it immediately. You know that you can't lead Sol on anymore. You aren't even trying to. Who knows what state your relationship is in. Did you guys get back together or not? Will he treat you any better if you do?

"maybe iit 2hould be."

You weren't expecting that. You don't know what you were expecting but it definitely wasn't that.

"excuse me? sol, wwhat are you talkin about? red? you an me?"

"2orry, iit wa2 2tupiid."

Although he says that like it's nothing, you can feel him sag in your arms.

He was being serious about the flushed quadrant.

You're stunned. You can't say anything even if you tried.

"sol, i just broke up wwith you"

Stupid. No. Why did you say that? You're bound to get in trouble now.

He sits up and turns around to face you.

"2o maybe we faiiled at a black romance but who'2 2ayiing we 2houldn't giive red a try?"

"so wwhat? you're bein serious? you really wanna try givvin red a go?"

"what the 2hiit, ii liiterally ju2t 2aiid that."

He gives you the cheekiest grin and kisses you on the nose.

Maybe this day isn't so bad after all.


End file.
